It was smooth sailing in 2014 for LSU President F. King Alexander, but a storm is on the horizon for 2015.
“I think there’s a big question mark, it’s a cloud over our heads right now going into this one that we did not have in 2014,” Alexander said. “We did not have this dark, ominous cloud hanging over us that we’re trying to worry about which direction is it going to go next.”
With looming budget cuts, Alexander said 2015 is going to be a different financial year than 2014.
With salary increases and the Workforce and Innovation for a Stronger Economy Fund, Alexander said 2014 was a good budget year for the University.
“This coming year with the oil price drop is going to be very tricky, and we have to be very cautious and strategic, because right now we’re looking at about a 40 percent reduction that has been floated out there,” Alexander said.
University officials and LSU System leaders are meeting with legislative leadership daily to discuss solutions.
Depending on the size of the budget cut, Alexander said hiring and student tuition and fees could be affected.
If the cut is large enough, Alexander said, as many as 16 campuses could face program cuts as well.
According to a report from NOLA.com | The Times- Picayune, multiple Louisiana higher education systems could face campus closures because of the possible $300 million budget cuts predicted by Gov. Bobby Jindal’s administration. Fifteen locations could be directly affected, including three in the University of Louisiana system and six in the community and technical college system.
An official ruling on the state’s budget for higher education will come in five weeks when the governor’s budget is released. Alexander said the goal is to have a more positive financial outcome in five weeks than leaders are looking at now.
Besides keeping an eye on the University budget, Alexander has continued to lead LSU 2015 — the reorganization and consolidation of the LSU System — since his start in 2013.
LSU 2015 began by merging the positions of LSU System president and University chancellor into Alexander’s consolidated position.
Under Alexander’s leadership, chancellors from the LSU System schools will head to Washington D.C. this semester for the second LSU Day to lobby for higher education.
“When we go up there together, that’s what they want to see happen,” Alexander said. “Whether Washington works better together, I don’t know, but when we’re up there together, we’re working better.”
Throughout 2014, Alexander worked with leaders to cut red tape for smooth sailing. Several administrative positions were consolidated to eliminate duplication, and the Board of Supervisors removed multiple bylaws and policies that slowed the administrative process.
In 2013, the University saw the consolidation of the College of Agriculture and the LSU AgCenter.
“Now we can actually have our AgCenter and College of Agriculture folks working collaboratively, which makes many more student opportunities available and makes more service and research opportunities available through Ag,” Alexander said.
Pending approval from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, the Paul M. Hebert Law Center will also become a part of the University in the next few weeks, Alexander said.
The Law Center has been a separate institution since 1977. Since the separation, the University’s pre-law program has lacked the collaboration of the Law Center, but Alexander said the University is currently working to improve the curriculum.
“The College of Humanities and Social Sciences and the Honors College are working together to put together a much more vibrant pre-law program,” Alexander said.